oxidase n : any of the enzymes that catalyze biological oxidation

English

Noun

1. Any of many enzymes which catalyze oxidation reactions, especially ones using molecular oxygen.

Translations

An oxidase is any enzyme that catalyzes an oxidation/reduction reaction involving molecular oxygen (O2) as the electron acceptor. In these reactions, oxygen is reduced to water (H2O) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

The oxidase are a subclass of the oxidoreductases.

Examples

An important example is cytochrome c oxidase, the key enzyme that allows the body to employ oxygen in the generation of energy and the final component of the electron transfer chain. Other examples are:

• glucose oxidase
• monoamine oxidase
• cytochrome P450 oxidase
• NADPH oxidase
• Xanthine oxidase
• L-gulonolactone oxidase
• laccase
• lysyl oxidase

Oxidase test

In microbiology, the oxidase test is used as a phenotypic character for the identification of bacterial strains; it determines whether a given bacterium produces cytochrome oxidases (and therefore utilizes oxygen with an electron transfer chain).

Bacteria that can or must utilize oxygen are called (facultative) aerobic bacteria.

External links

• Catalase & Oxidase tests video